Topic:Parliament and State Legislatures – structure, functioning, conduct of business, powers & privileges and issues arising out of these.
2) What are the factors responsible for criminalization of politics in India. DIscuss. (250 words)
Why this question
Criminalization of politics, use of money and muscle power is a severe problem in Indian politics and there is an urgent need to address the issue as has been highlighted by the SC recently. It is therefore necessary to discuss the reasons behind the criminalization of politics in India.
Directive word
Discuss- this is an all-encompassing directive which mandates us to write in detail about the key demand of the question. we also have to discuss about the related and important aspects of the question in order to bring out a complete picture of the issue in hand.
Key demand of the question.
The question wants us to write in detail about the factors responsible for the criminalization of politics in India.
Structure of the answer
Introduction– write a few introductory lines highlighting the situation of Indian politics in terms of criminalization- e.g Data from the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) indicate that 179 out of the 543 elected Members of Parliament in the present Lok Sabha have some kind of criminal case pending against them.
Body-
Discuss in points the reasons as to why such criminalization is prevalent in Indian politics. E.g The use of muscle power along with money power is a weapon used by all political parties to maximise electoral gains; The constitution does not specify what disqualifies an individual from contesting in an election to a legislature. It is the Representation of People Act which specifies what can disqualify an individual from contesting an election. The law does not bar individuals who have criminal cases pending against them from contesting elections; With cases dragging in courts for years, a disqualification based on conviction becomes ineffective. Low conviction rates in such cases compounds the problem; voters don’t mind electing candidates facing criminal cases. Voter behaviour then emboldens political parties to give tickets to such candidates who can win an election on their ticket etc.
conclusion– based on your discussion, form a fair and a balanced conclusion on the given issue.